Seasonally frozen soil effects on the dynamic behavior of highway bridges

Frozen ground is significantly stiffer than unfrozen ground. For bridges supported on deep foundations, bridge stiffness is also measurably higher in winter months. Significant changes due to seasonal freezing in bridge pier boundary conditions require additional detailing in order to ensure a ductile performance of the bridge during a design earthquake event. This paper reports the latest results obtained from a project that systematically investigated the effects of seasonally frozen soil on the seismic behavior of highway bridges in cold regions. A bridge was chosen and was monitored to study its seismic performance and assess the impact of seasonally frozen soil on its dynamic properties. A Finite Element (FE) model was created for this bridge to analyze the impact of seasonal frost. It was found that when frost depth reaches 1.2 m, the first transverse modal frequency increases about 200% when compared with the no-frost case. The results show that seasonal frost has a significant impact on the overall dynamic behavior of bridges supported by pile foundations in cold regions, and that these effects should be accounted for in seismic design.     

A model test system with a dynamic load device for geotechnical engineering in cold regions

A model test system with a dynamic load device for geotechnical engineering in cold regions is presented. This system consists of a model test tank, a refrigeration device and temperature controller, a dynamic load device, together with sensors and data loggers for detecting stress, deformation, and temperature changes. The system can accommodate soil blocks up to 3 m in length, 2.5 m in width, and 1 m in height. The lowest temperature provided by the refrigeration device is -20 °C. The maximum load provided by the dynamic load device is 100 kN and the vibration frequency of the dynamic load can range from 0.1 to 10 Hz. A number of waveforms, such as sine waves, rectangular waves, triangle waves, and other user-defined waves can be generated by the dynamic load device controller.     

Book Review and Doctoral Theses

The article discusses the importance of services as agents of internationalisation. Services are seen as dynamic agents of change, and services and commodities are considered composite in production processes. Modes of entering the global scene such as trade in services, foreign direct investment, forming of alliances, franchising and intrafirm trade are focused on, and limits to globalisation are highlighted. Some services, particularly advanced business services, more easily fall prey to institutional and cultural constraints than others. Empirically, Norway is analysed as an arena of international services against the background of its historical tradition particularly in shipping and affiliated activities. Recently, however, manufacturing has gained in importance, mainly in exports and to a lesser extent in imports, due to the petroleum economy. This appears to indicate that export of services has lost momentum over time. The development profile in shipping is highly negative. The negative picture changes somewhat when not only the trade balance, but also investment abroad is considered. In this respect, services have grown in relative importance, notably in the financial sector and in telecommunications. When juxtaposing outgoing and incoming investments, petroleum-related services have gained an increased export and investment surplus in recent years, from a balance in the mid-1990s.     

我国城市居民直接能耗的碳排放类型及影响因素

针对我国287个地级以上城市,在测算了近9年居民直接能耗导致的CO₂排放量的基础上,进行聚类、对比,并分析城市居民直接能耗的碳排放影响因素,得到以下结论:全国分为6类城市居民直接能耗碳排放类型;高碳排放型城市的地均碳排放强度、人均工资碳排放强度及居民直接能耗CO₂排放总量等方面均比低碳排放型城市高,人均地方生产总值碳排放强度低于低碳排放型城市,并多为经济发达城市和资源丰富城市,其碳排放构成上分别以电、交通能耗碳排放和气碳排放为主导,高碳排放型城市居民直接能耗CO₂排放量占全国地级以上城市的86.20%。我国大部分地级城市居民直接能耗的碳排放属于相对低碳排放型,其人均CO₂排放量低于全国平均水平。城市所在地的降温度日数(CDD)、采暖期、采暖强度、人均能源供给量、居民的人均工资、城市人均地方生产总值是影响城市居民直接能耗CO₂排放量的主要因素。     

珠江三角洲地区城中村土地供求的动态均衡分析

土地问题是我国城中村研究的核心问题。在对珠江三角洲地区城中村进行实地调研的基础上,就城中村主体的行为特征、城中村土地供应和需求的基本特征进行了总结。以理论推导与现实印证相结合的方法,基于经济学中的供求理论,对城中村土地供求变化进行了动态均衡分析。从村庄"内部人"的视角,考察在各种内外部因素变动(征地与留用地,城中村改造,村民城市化转型)的情况下,城中村主体如何实现土地的供应和需求均衡。总体上,城中村土地变化表现为土地需求被动地追随(因征地而发生的)供应减少而下降,以实现供求均衡。具体而言,在城中村形成阶段,供求均衡借助乡村工业化,即农业用地转为工业用地而实现;在城中村存续阶段,存在土地供求的逐渐失衡;在城中村改造阶段,供求均衡最终必须通过城市化,即村民转为市民而实现。     

近35 a内蒙古阿拉善盟绿洲化过程遥感分析

 绿洲是干旱区人类活动的高度聚集区,它的时空格局变化对社会经济发展有着至关重要的影响。以1975年至2010年间5期Landsat系列数据为信息源,通过目视解译提取阿拉善盟绿洲信息,在GIS空间分析功能的支持下,对绿洲时空格局变化进行了分析。研究结果表明,阿拉善绿洲按面积大小分布依次为:阿拉善左旗、额济纳旗和阿拉善右旗;1975—2010年间,阿拉善绿洲面积变化总体上呈先缩小后增长的趋势;其中草地的变化量最大,占整个绿洲变化面积的64.92%;研究区绿洲主导景观类型为天然草地,并且35 a内没有发生变化。     

青海省海东地区土地利用变化及其生态服务价值响应

根据青海省海东地区2002～2008年土地利用变更数据,采用土地利用动态度模型和土地利用综合指数分析该地区近7年来土地利用变化情况,并参考谢高地等人建立的中国陆地生态系统单位面积生态服务价值当量表对该区域当量表进行适当调整,测算了土地利用变化所引起的生态服务价值变化情况。研究表明：（1）2002～2008年,各类型土地利用变化速度各不相同,其中以水利设施用地变化速度最快为12．24％,土地利用程度波动上升;（2）土地利用变化所引起的生态服务价值总体上呈逐步上升趋势,由2002年的82．01×10^8元增加至2008年的88．16×10^8元,增加了6．15×10^8元;（3）各种土地利用类型的生态系统服务价值的敏感性指数均小于1,表明生态系统服务价值对价值系数的变化缺乏弹性,研究结果可信。     

Agricultural land use dynamics in the Brazilian Amazon based on remote sensing and census data

The potential impact of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon on greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere calls for policies that take account of changes in forest cover. Although much research has focused on the location and effects of deforestation, little is known about the distribution and reasons for the agricultural uses that replace forest cover. We used Landsat TM-based deforestation and agricultural census data to generate maps of the distribution and proportion of four major agricultural land uses throughout the Brazilian Amazon in 1997 and 2007. We built linear and spatial regression models to assess the determinant factors of deforestation and those major agricultural land uses - pasture, temporary agriculture and permanent agriculture - for the states of Pará, Rondônia, and Mato Grosso. The data include 30 determinant factors that were grouped into two years (1996 and 2006) and in four categories: accessibility to markets, public policies, agrarian structure, and environment. We found an overall expansion of the total agricultural area between 1997 and 2007, and notable differences between the states of Pará, Rondônia, and Mato Grosso in land use changes during this period. Regression models for deforestation and pasture indicated that determinant factors such as distance to roads were more influential in 1997 than in 2007. The number of settled families played an important role in the deforestation and pasture, the effect was stronger in 2007 than 1997. Indigenous lands were significant in preventing deforestation in high-pressure areas in 2007. For temporary and permanent agricultures, our results show that in 1997 the effect of small farms was stronger than in 2007. The mapped land use time series and the models explain empirically the effects of land use changes across the region over one decade.     

安徽省池州市2001～2010年可持续发展动态测度与分析

安徽池州市是国家首个生态经济示范区,近十年来,城镇化、工业化水平的快速提升加剧了其发展的风险性和不稳定性,可持续发展面临较大挑战。基于生态足迹模型,对池州市2001～2010年生态足迹供给与需求进行了时间序列测度与分析,利用灰色GM(1,1)模型对2015年、2020年人均生态足迹进行了预测。结果表明:池州市人均生态足迹由2001年的1.2458hm²/人上升至2010年的2.2483hm²/人,年平均增长11.14%,人均生态赤字由0.8445hm²/人扩大至2010年的1.8266hm²/人;居民消费水平、能源消费量与人均生态足迹相关系数分别为0.844、0.945,为生态足迹驱动因素;研究时段内,能源生态足迹年均增长速度为83.75%,明显快于生物资源生态足迹增长速度;万元GDP生态足迹由2001年的2.98hm²/万元下降至2010年的1.20hm²/万元。预测2015年人均生态足迹为3.2336hm²/人,生态赤字将增至2.7926hm²/人;2020年人均生态足迹为4.4896hm²/人,生态赤字将扩大到4.0308hm²/人。针对池州生态不安全的现状,从减少能源消费、改变消费方式、提高农作物单产等方面提出了减少生态足迹的政策建议。     

夏季安徽槽前形势下龙卷和非龙卷型强对流天气的环境条件对比研究

利用NCEP再分析资料,对安徽省夏季高空槽前形势下两类强对流天气各5次个例的环流特征、热力和动力条件进行了对比分析。结果表明：以大风、短时强降水天气为主的非龙卷类表现为高空的低槽比较深厚,而龙卷的产生多是由于较浅的短波槽引起的,并且低层有西南急流存在,导致较强的垂直风切变。通过比较热力和动力物理量平均场的分布特征发现：在槽前形势下水汽条件都比较好,夏季整层大气可降水量平均在55mm以上,但出现龙卷时中低层的垂直风切变非常强,龙卷类0-1km垂直风切变大约是非龙卷类的3倍。由于存在较强的垂直风切变,龙卷类低层的风暴相对螺旋度也强于非龙卷类。从动力和热力条件综合来看,出现龙卷时的对流有效位能并不是很大,但能量螺旋度很大,即风暴相对螺旋度上差异更加明显。因此在预报槽前类龙卷天气时,应重点关注环境风场的垂直切变和风暴相对螺旋度。